Jean canellopoulos



(No Model.)

J. GANELLOPOULOS. AUTOMATIC GAS LIGHTING DEVIGE.

Patented Mayll, .1897.

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JEAN CANELLOPOULOS, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

AUTOMATBC GAS-LIGHTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 582,175, dated May 11, 1897.

Application filed January 2, 1897.

To a whmn it may con/Germ Be it known that I, JEAN OANELLOPOULOS, residing at Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Gas-Lightin g Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to self-lighting gas-burners such as described in an application for patent of the United States made jointly by me and Henri O. Kratz-Boussac, filed September 29, 1896, Serial No. 607,340, in which was shown a self-igniting gas-burner combined with means for automatically cutting off the supply of gas to the igniter pipe or passage after the gas at the main burner has been ignited. In this construction of burner the gas from the supply-pipe flows at once to both the main and igniting burners as soon as the main valve or cock in the supply-pipe is opened. As a certain time elapses before the gas flowing to the ignitingbody can bring such body to a sufficient state of incandescence to ignite such gas, during which time gas flows freely to the main burner, from which it escapes into the atmosphere, such escaping gas not only produces offensive odors and is wasted, but in those burners Which are surrounded by a chimney, or, as in incandescent burners, by a mantle capable of becoming incandescent by exposure to heat, the gas escaping from the main burner accumulates in the chimney or mantle, an explosive compound being formed therein which is exploded when ignited. These explosions are extremely injurious to the incandescent mantles in that they are ruptured thereby and become useless, entailing great expense, irrespective of the waste of gas. In fact, experiments have demonstrated that when the gassupply is fully turned on at once the ignition of the gas escaping from the main burner resulted in an explosion of sufficient violence to shatter or fissure the incandescent mantle.

The object of this invention is to provide means whereby these explosions are entirely Serial No. 617,776. (No model.)

open said valve and by so arranging the expansible body relatively to the burner as to be within the immediate influence of the heat from the burner-flame to keep the body expanded and the said valve open so long as the burner is in operation. The expansible body may be solid, or a liquid or a gas may beused, or the main-burner valve may be controlled by an electromagnet in circuit With a thermoelectric couple infiuenced by the heat of the igniting and main burner flames.

My invention has for its further object to so construct the self-i gnitin g and gas-controllin g devices as to form an attachment that can readily be applied to existing gas-burners; but that my invention may be better understood I will describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a selfigniter embodying my invention applied to an incandescent burner shown in dotted lines and Figs. 2, 3, and4 are detail views illustrating various means for controlling the valves.

Referring to Fig. 1, Ain dicates a valve-casing divided into two chambers by a valveseat and a normally closed valve f, held to its said seat by a coiled spring 9 on a valve rod or stem a, that passes through said valve with sufficient freedom as not to displace the same, said valve-stem carrying above the valve f an abutment, as a collar h, adapted to engage and cause such valve to move with it in one direction. At its lower en d the valve-stem. a carries a cone-valve d, having its seat in an outlet-passage in the casing to which the igniting-jet pipe n is connected, said pipe rising upward with its jet-orifice .2' in proximity tothe main burner and serving as a support for the self-igniting body, as a pellet or pill B of platinum sponge or black having embedded therein a platinum wire or a bunch of platinum Wires w. The valve stem a extends through the head of the valvecasing A and has its upper outer end serrated or con structed in the form of a rack-bar, as shown at 0, and from said casing rises a standard 3, to the upper end of which is secured one end of a platinum wire 1), whose opposite end is secured to a lever-arm b, fulcrumed on the standard, the outer end of said arm being connected by a link r to the rack-bar or serrated portion of the valve-stem a, the connection being such that the valve 01 is held normally off its seat. The valve-casing A is connected to a short coupling-pipe P (adapted to be screwed to a burner and gas-supply pipe, respectively) by means of two pipes or passages Z and m, connected to pipe P on opposite sides of a partition 29 therein and to the valve-casing A below and above valve f, respectively.

The operation will be as follows: Gas being admitted through pipe P to valve-casing A below valve f will flow through the normally open igniting-passage a to igniting-nozzle z and self-igniting body B and heat the same to incandescence, thereby igniting the jet of gas. The heat from the igniting-jet causes the wire t' to expand and depress the leverarm I) and with it the valve-stem a, the abutment or collar 7L unseating the valve f, thereby admitting gas from the chamberbelow said valve to the chamber above, and thence through pipe or passage on to the main burner, where it is at once ignited. This downward movement of the valve-stem also causes the valve 01 to move to its seat and cut off the supply of gas from the igniter-passage 'n'ft hereby extinguishing the igniting-flame. These conditions will be maintained so long as the main burner is in operation, but should the flame of said main burner become extinguished from any cause other than the cutting off of the supply of gas to the coupling- ,pipe P the wire 1' will cool down and contract,

thereby lifting the lever-arm b and valve-stem a, when the coiled spring g will at once move the valve f to its seat, thereby cutting off the supply of gas to the main burner and again establishing the communication between the igniting-burner and the main supply-pipe, when the above-described operations are repeated, the main burner being again automatically set in operation. hen, on the contrary, the supply of gas to the couplingpipe Pis cut off, the described operations will take place, except, of course, the relighting of the main burner, leaving the self-igniting devices in a condition ready for operation when the gas is again turned on.

Inasmuch as theheating of the expansible body, consequently its expansion, is a gradual one, the two valves f and at move gradually from and to their respective seats, the supply of gas to the main burner being a gradual one, so that when the full supply has been turned on the gas issuing from the main burner is already ignited,while the ignitingburner will be extinguished. An accumulation of gas Within the chimney or incandescent mantle and the formation of an explosive gaseous mixture and the resulting explosion of such mixture when ignited are thus avoided.

By providing means for adjusting the leverarm b on the valve-stem the gradual lengthening of the expansible wire 2' under the action of heat can be compensated, while the supply of gas to the main burner can also be nicely regulated,as will be readily understood.

In a self-igniting device such as described it is of course important that the expansible body should at all times during the operation of the main burner be sufficiently heated to maintain it properly expanded, and for this reason I prefer to locate the expansible body immediately within the influence of the heat from the main-burner flame, instead of below and more or less remote therefrom, as has heretofore been proposed, in which latter arrangement the heat to which the said body is exposed is transmitted radiated heat exclusively, so that a very considerable time must elapse before the supply of gas to the igniter-burner is cut off, while in burners of certain construction-as, for instance, those constructed on the principle of the Bunsen burnerbut little heat is transmitted to points below the so-callec mixingchamber,? so that the operation of the valve-controlling expansible body becomes more or less uncertain.

Of course for ordinary gas-burners the valve f may be dispensed with, yet its advantages as a means of preventing accidents in case the operation of the main burner is interrupted, as by blowing out the light, which happens not infrequently, will be readily understood.

When constructed as described, the selfigniting and gas-controlling appliances con stitnte an attachment that is readily applied to gas-burners.

Instead of a solid expansible body a vaporizable or expansible liquid or gas may be used. I11 Fig. 2 I have shown a tube t", rigidly closed at one end, enlarged at its opposite end,which is closed by a diaphragm '5 that is or may be connected through a lever b with the valvestem a to control either the valve d or both valves f and 01, said tube containing air or another gas, or it may contain a liquid, and will in practice be located immediately within the influence of the heat from the burner flame as well as from the igniting-flame.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a bent tube 1'', the longer vertical stem of which terminates in a bulb,while the bent portion contains a liquid-as mercury, for instanceupon which rests a float connected by lever 11 to valvestem at, so that when the ,air in the tube is expanded by heat the mercury will be displaced, so as to operate the valve d or the valves d and f, as described. The same results may be obtained by including an electromagnet 7c in circuit with a thermo-electric couple L, Fig. 4, the valve-actuating lever 12 being provided with a suitable armature that is attracted by current set up by heat to move the valve-stem.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination With a gas-suppl y pipe, a main burner and an igniter-burner in communication with said gas-supply pipe, of a normally open valve adjustable relatively to its seat in the igniter-burner passage and adapted to automatically close when the gas at the main burner is ignited, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with the gas-supply pipe, the burner, the igniter, and passages communicating with said pipe, burner and igniter, respectively, of a normally open valve in the igniter-passage, a normally closed valve in the burner-passage, means operated by heat to first open the normally closed valve and then close the normally open valve, and regulating devices for varying the amplitude of the movements of the valves, for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with the gas-supply pipe, the burner, the igniter, and passages communicating with said burner and igniter respectively; of a normally open valve in the igniter-passage, a normally closed valve in the burner-passage, a valve-actuating rod adapted to move the valve in the burner-passage off its seat and to move the valve in the igniter-passage to and from its seat, means operated by heat from the igniter and burner flames to move said valve-rod to first open the valve in the burner-passage and then close the valve in the igniter-passage and means for closing the valve in said burnerpassage when said rod opens the valve in the igniter-passage, for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with the gas-supply pipe, the burner, the igniter and a valvechamber having passages in communication with the gas-supply pipe, the igniter and the burner respectively; of a normally open valve in the igniter-passage, a spring-seated normally closed valve in the burner-passage, a valve-rod rigidly connected with the normally open valve and provided with a projection or collar adapted to engage said spring-seated valve, and an expansible body influenced by heat from the igniting and burner flames to move said valve-rod to first open the valve in the burner-passage against the stress of its spring and then close the valve in the igniter-passage, for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with the gas-supply pipe, the burner, the igniter, and a valvechamber having passages communicating with said supply-pipe, igniter and burner, respectively, a normally open valve in the igniter-passage, a normally closed valve in the burner-passage, a valve-stem passing freely through the last-named valve and rigidly connected to the first-named valve, a coiled spring interposed on the rod between the two valves, an abutment on said rod on the opposite side of the normally closed valve, and an expansible body influenced by heat from the igniting and burner flames to move said rod and first open the normally closed valve against the stress of its spring and then close the normally open valve, for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination with the gas-supply pipe, the burner, the'igniter, and passages communicating with said pipe, burner and igniter, respectively; of a normally open valve in the'igniter-passage, a normally closed valve in the burner-passage, an expansible body in fluenced by heat from the igniting and burner flames to first open the normally closed valve and then close the normally open valve, and means for varying the amplitude of the movements of said valves, for the purpose set forth.

7. An attachment for gas-burners, com prising a pipe-coupling, a valve-casing in c0mmunication with and supported laterally from said coupling, an igniter-pipe connected with the valvechamber in said casing, a valve having its seat in the passage leading from the chamber to the igniter-pipe, an eXpa-nsible body supported from the valve-casing above the same, and a connection between said body and the valve-actuating rod, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. An attachment for gas-burners, comprising a pipe-coupling partitioned oft intermediate of its open ends, valve-casing, pipe connections leading from the valve-chamber in said casin g to the pipe-coupling at opposite sides of its partition, an igniter-pipe connected with said chamber, avalve interposed in the latter between its points of connection With the pipe-coupling, a valve-rod on which said valve is loosely mounted, a second valve rigidly connected with the rod and adapted to close a passage leading to theigniter-pipe, a coiled spring on the valve-rod interposed between the two valves, and an abutment on said rod adapted to engage the loosely-mounted valve; in combination with an expansible body supported from the valve-casing, a lever-arm pivoted to the support for said body, the free end of said arm connected with the valve-rod, substantially as set forth.

9. An attachment for gas-burners, comprising a pipe coupling partitioned oft intermediate of its open ends, a valve-casing, pipe connections leading from the valve-chamber in said casing to the pipe-coupling at opposite sides of its partition, an igniter-pipe connected with said chamber, a valve interposed in the latter between its points of connection with the pipe-coupling, a valve-rod on which said valve is loosely mounted, a second valve rigidly connected with the stem and adapted to close a passage leading to the igniter-pipe,

a coiled spring on the valve-rod interposed In testimony that I claim the foregoing as between the two Valves, and an abutment 011 my invention I have signed my name in pres- 10 said rod adapted to engage the loosely-mountence of two subscribing witnesses.

ed valve; in combination With an expansible body supported from the valve-casing, and a JEAN CANELLOPOULOS' lever-arm pivoted to the support for said body Witnesses:

the free end of said arm adj ustably connected MAX GUTMANN,

with the valve-rod, substantially as set forth. EMIL R. CENEY. 

